A Curveball from Hell
by Shadow Prince Asce
Summary: Juggling the love of a priestess and her reincarnation, a quest to reunite all the pieces of the Shikon no Tama, and an everraging quest for the head of his hated nemesis, Naraku Inuyasha couldn’t imagine his life getting any more hectic. Then a fiery red
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 01**

"What a fucking waste of time!" Inuyasha complained for the millionth time, as the group traveled through the forest headed for Kaede's village.

The group had been walking for nearly a week now, after traveling far to the north in search of a rumored jewel shard said to be held by a nest of snake demons. Shortly upon reaching the small village, the group realized that the rumors were false and there was no shard. The group, much to the Chagrin of their half-demon companion, elected to stay the night regardless, to help the village with their demon problems anyway. It was then that his grumbling began. And now, two weeks later, the group had had enough.

"Enough already!" Kagome shouted at the fuming hanyou as the group continued to traverse the quickly darkening forest, "It's getting late and we can hardly see, Inuyasha! I think we should stop here and set up camp!"

"I agree Inuyasha," conferred Miroku as the group entered a clearing, "continuing on in the dark isn't going to get us there any faster."

"Feh," Inuyasha replied irritably, "Weak humans! Every time I even start to pick up the pace, **_someone's_** asking to stop." He said that last part while staring directly at Kagome.

"Grrrr! Sit, Sit, Sit, Sit, Sit, Sit!" Kagome said before she turned, huffed and walked to the middle of the clearing. Sitting down, she opened up her backpack and prepared to make camp. Sango was the first of the group to join her.

"I know he can be irritating at times," begun Sango as she sat down beside Kagome, "But do you really think it wise to keep sitting him like this?"

"Humph, he deserves it," she said as she looked over at the fallen hanyou, "jerk!"

Meanwhile, the rest of the group still stood near the downed Inuyasha. Though Shippo was the only one to talk, he seemed to be able to talk enough for the two of them.

"How you doing down there Inu-baka! Comfortable enough for ya! You're not so tough now! Ha, ha, ha!"

"Shippo, I don't think it's wise to tease Inuyasha like this," commented Miroku.

Shippo turned around to face Miroku, "Its okay, he can't do anything to me. If he does- ow!" Shippo complained as something hard hit his head. Turning around, Shippo came face to face, or rather face to knee, with a rather pissed Inuyasha.

"Uh, he, he, he, hey Inuyasha" Shippo said nervously as he looked up into the face of his half demon companion.

A cruel smile touched Inuyasha's lips as he stared down at the tiny fox demon. "So tell me again, what were you saying?"

"Uhhh," Shippo said, slowly backing away from Inuyasha. After about five steps, he turned, and sprinted away from Inuyasha as he yelled for Kagome.

Inuyasha was about to give chase when another scent assaulted his nose from not far away. Inuyasha stopped and sniffed the air once more to confirm his first smell. Turning away from the group, Inuyasha chose then to leap away into the forest, leaving his surprised group speechless.

A low growl escaped Inuyasha's lips as he continued to venture forth into the darkened forest. There was a demon very closed nearby, and that Inuyasha just could not have. This was his forest, and any demon that dared to enter would have to deal with him personally. Besides, from the near overwhelming scent of blood in the air, Inuyasha was sure that this demon wasn't just passing through.

So Inuyasha continued on. Running through the forest as the scent of his invading demon as well as the scent of blood became stronger and stronger. Eventually Inuyasha got close enough that he could hear the sounds of a battle going on.

* * *

Back at the camp, the gang just now seemed to be recovering from the shock of seeing Inuyasha skip an opportunity to beat up on little Shippo. Kagome, who had watched the entire event unfold, ready to sit Inuyasha if he got out of line was the first to utter her disbelief to the entire group.

"What just happened?" she asked.

"I don't know," said Miroku, "But it seems as if Inuyasha has found something a bit more interesting than Shippo, from the way he growled when he left. Kagome, do you sense any jewel shards around?"

"No," she said trying to understand where this conversation was going.

"Hmm, I wonder then. What else could cause such a reaction from Inuyasha?" inquired the monk.

Kagome just then seemed to catch on to Miroku's line of thinking. The thought of Inuyasha running off to find Kikyou did seem like a plausible reason for his sudden disappearance, except for one rather small problem. There were no soul collectors in the area. Kikyou never traveled without them. "No," Kagome voiced aloud, "There are no soul collectors around."

"The only other explanation that I can come up with is that Inuyasha scented another hostile demon nearby," said Miroku.

"If that's the case then he may be in trouble. We should go help him!" exclaimed Kagome.

"Or he may just want to be alone. How about Kirara and I go and look for him. If he is in trouble I'll send Kirara back to get you guys, ok?"

The rest of the group agreed with Sango, though Kagome did seem a bit less enthusiastic about the whole thing. Nevertheless, Kirara transformed and took off into the forest just as Sango hopped onto her back. The pair flew through the forest at an amazing speed, in search of Inuyasha.

* * *

The battle had ended by the time Inuyasha reached the scene. Stepping into another clearing in the forest, he looked around confused. He had only smelled one, maybe two demons as he sped across the forest toward this place, and yet the entire clearing was littered with parts from over a dozen assorted demons, which meant that the demon responsible for this attack was still in the area somewhere.

Inuyasha jumped back and scanned the area. Nothing moved. From the trees and the dirt, to the blood and assorted body parts littered around this area, Inuyasha couldn't spot a single thing moving. He relaxed immensely, and then stepped back into the clearing to check the area a bit more. It would do Inuyasha a lot of good to know more about this possible enemy.

Looking though the decaying mess of demon entrails that encompassed the clearing, Inuyasha crinkled his nose. The stench was horrendous but Inuyasha wanted to find out who could have caused destruction on this scale so quickly. So he stayed and dealt with the stench. But as Inuyasha continued to sift through the decaying pieces of demons, Inuyasha was not getting any idea of what had occurred. All he could tell from the mess was that the weapon used to slay most of these demons was a sword of some kind, and that a few of the demons had scorch marks on their mutilated parts.

"What the fuck could have done this?" Inuyasha said to himself.

Just then a noise caught Inuyasha's attention. It had come from the center of the clearing, so turning around, Inuyasha walked back through the grimy mess of demon entrails, to find himself in the center of the clearing.

"Uungh!" A pained grunt sounded from beneath the pile of flesh and other body parts that made up this rather large pile of filth in front of which Inuyasha currently stood.

Inuyasha bent down to get a better look at the pile. He was sure everything there had been dead. Then the pile moved as another groan was emitted from deep within the prison of flesh and blood. It hadn't moved much; in fact a human trained to notice the slightest movements, such as in Sango's profession might not have been able to pick it up. But Inuyasha wasn't human, and to him the movement signified that there was indeed life in the clearing after all.

Inuyasha bent over slightly as he tried to decide what to do. Should he save the person? Should he leave the person there? The person buried beneath the pile of demon parts might not even by a human at all. Then Inuyasha would be forced to…fight. Inuyasha nearly tripped in his hasty decent upon the pile of demon parts, then a thought came to him. This could also be someone in very real pain. He couldn't go rushing into this; he might end up doing more harm than good to the person he was trying to save. So calming down, Inuyasha came to the decision to take things slow for once, that is, until something moved in the corner of his right eye.

It was quick, extremely quick, even Inuyasha's demon senses barely noticed it, and even mere seconds after seeing it, while Inuyasha scanned the surrounding area for any signs of anything else, and he could not recall much about what he saw. Most of what he saw was darkness; the entire creature's body was enshrouded in darkness, at least in his mind. He did however recall two items jingling at the creature's waist, as well as two brilliant violet eyes. Eyes the likes of which, he had once seen, long ago. Those eyes still haunted his dreams now, more than 50 years later. Inuyasha continued to scan the surrounding area source of his reminiscent thoughts to no avail. Finally turning back to the pile in the center of the clearing, he remembered why he was here at all.

Inuyasha began almost immediately to pick and toss away bits and pieces of a number of demons that managed to stack up right here. It took a considerable bit of time to get down to where he needed, simply because of the sheer amount and size of the stuff. Inuyasha midway through, had nearly given up trying to be delicate, but stopped himself since he was unsure of just how badly wounded the person buried beneath was. Finally, Inuyasha did manage to get to his target.

Looking upon his subject, Inuyasha was amazed. She seemed to be in a good enough shape, compared to the rest of her companions in the clearing. Her biggest wound, it seemed was the one inch deep gash that began just under her left breast and ended an inch shy of her right hip. Inuyasha lifted her up from the grime, carrying her out of the clearing before once again setting her down near the base of a tree. She groaned a few more times on the way, and as Inuyasha set her down, he studied the young woman's tattered frame once more.

Her red hair was mangled, with foliage, as well as the dried blood from herself and her companions. She had a small frame, and wore brown fur clothes, that Inuyasha would have found extremely provocative was she not lying on the ground bloody, wounded, and unconscious. Looking once more at her face, Inuyasha could swear that he had seen this female somewhere before, but due to all of the different demon scents she was covered in, he found it difficult to determine. _Oh Well_, he thought, _I'm sure I'll remember eventually. In the mean time, I'll take her back to camp. I'm sure there is something in Kagome's 'backpack' that can help her._

Inuyasha rose then, and turned to take the injured girl back to camp. It would take him a bit longer to get there than it had to come, simply because he did not want to aggravate any of her wounds. But time was of the essence, and Inuyasha hoped that they didn't run into any unwanted company on the way back.

Inuyasha took two steps back toward the camp when he was stopped. Already, this is going to be a long trip back. Inuyasha started to put his unconscious companion down when he recognized their new guest. Riding on the back of Kirara, Sango jumped down and looked at Inuyasha with a relieved look.

"Inuyasha, thank the gods," she said as she jumped down off of Kirara, "Why did you-" She stopped in mid-sentence as she noticed the young woman in Inuyasha's arms. Frowning in confusion she looked up into Inuyasha's eyes as her next question popped out. "What happened to Ayame?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 02**

'I don't know," Inuyasha responded, "I just kind of found her like this."

Sango gave him a questioning look, but otherwise did not argue, instead approaching the pair, as she began inspecting the female demon's wounds.

"She's in bad shape," Sango said as she trailed her hand over the unconscious girl's stomach, very near the large gash. A slight whimper escaped from Ayame's lips causing Sango to withdraw her hand right before turning her gaze onto the hanyou as she asked, "This is a nasty cut. Are you sure you don't know what happened to her?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "No, like I said, she was buried under a pile of demon parts when I found her. But if she hadn't been groaning, I wouldn't have found her at all. Why, can't you heal her with some of those things from Kagome's 'backpack'?"

"It's not that simple, Inuyasha. If she was poisoned, or otherwise infected we would only be doing her harm by bandaging her wounds," Sango coolly replied, "That's why I need to know more about what happened."

Inuyasha grunted in reply. He didn't like the fact that she was telling him what to do with an injured demon. But at the same time, he simply couldn't deny her logic. They did need to know what caused her injuries, if not to help Ayame, then to better understand a potential new enemy.

Inuyasha turned back toward the clearing, and then spoke up, "I found her in the clearing over there. She was buried under a bunch of pieces of demons."

Sango nodded, and then looked down at her cat, "Kirara go take a look around the clearing up ahead. See if you can find anything that might give us a clue about what might have happened."

Kirara was gone in a flash, sifting through the mutilated bits and pieces of what were once over a dozen demons. Employed by her mistress hundreds of times for various missions such as this, Kirara knew just what it was that her mistress was looking for, and it didn't take long for her to find it. Laid out on the ground as separate from the rest of the mess as something could be, lay a small dagger. Its black hilt carried a green snake insignia on one side, while on the other, the name Akio was imprinted in the same color as the insignia.

Kirara approached the weapon tentatively, as if she were hunting the item. Upon deciding that there was no danger for her or her master, Kirara issued forth a growl to claim the attention of both Sango and Inuyasha. Sango got to Kirara first, followed shortly by Inuyasha, whose energy at the moment seemed to be entirely focused on the injured young woman in his arms.

"What did you find Kirara?" Sango asked the mewling cat.

Kirara of course, said nothing and instead clawed at the ground where the blade lay. Sango kneeled down and picked up the small blade. She examined it carefully for a moment, running her hands over the leather-bound hilt, then the extremely smooth edge of the blade, stopping just short of the bit of blood smeared on the tip and outer edges of the blade. It was then that the insignia on the hilt caught her eye, and she nearly jumped in surprise.

"You okay, Sango?" asked a very confused Inuyasha.

"Y-yes I'm fine. It's just that, well, we should probably get her to Kaede as soon as possible."

"What about the poison?" Inuyasha asked.

"Is the blood on this knife hers?" Sango asked without acknowledging his question.

Inuyasha walked over to Sango, with Ayame snuggled as comfortably as possible in his arms, and sniffed the blade. "I can't be sure because of all the different scents on her, but that is definitely one of them."

"Then there is no poison," Sango replied in an even tone.

"How the hell do you know that?" Inuyasha asked perplexed by her current change of attitude.

"It's a long story," Sango said, then paused. After a couple seconds silence, she looked up at him and continued, "But to make a long story short; this dagger, the one that put that large gash in the stomach of our unconscious guest there, is the property of a man named Shinzo. He's the son of an important samurai lord in the south."

"So all of this was done by a human?" Inuyasha asked bewildered. He just couldn't believe that any single human, no matter how strong, could commit an act of destruction on this level against this many demons so quickly.

"I don't know," replied Sango in a slightly depressed tone.

Even she did not see how any one person could have done all of this so quickly, because by the looks of things, this scene was fairly new. That statement alone meant that almost, if not all of these demons were killed at the same time. But such worries would not help them any at the moment. They needed to get back to the others, and then get Ayame to Kaede's village where she could be properly cared for. They might even be able to get a bit more information about this mysterious assassin.

So standing tall once more, Sango turned to Inuyasha, knife still in hand, and said confidently, "We should get back to the others before they start to worry. Ayame will be alright tonight with us. But first thing tomorrow, we need to take her back to Kaede's so she can get some rest and proper care."

Inuyasha did not argue for once, and the small group set off for camp. As they walked, both Inuyasha and Sango resolved to find out who this mystery person was. For Inuyasha, this was a matter of pride. He couldn't just let someone come in and run crazy through his forest, it set a bad example. Sango on the other hand was looking more into the future. The appearance of a clan from so far to the south meant that something big was brewing, and Sango wasn't sure she was going to like what happened if she could not figure this puzzle out soon enough. Unfortunately for the both of them, and Kirara too, they missed one thing; the fact that their target was still around. In fact, he sat watching them, from a branch in the trees about twenty feet off of the ground, as they made their way back to camp.

* * *

Four days had passed since that night when Inuyasha pulled Ayame from the pile of demon parts in the forest. The group still had no clue as to who the missing assailant was, or why the fight took place, out it was only a matter of time. Right now, Sango and Kirara were off gathering information on the owner of the dagger, which if successful could answer who and possibly why. Then with Kaede tending to the young demoness' wounds, Ayame's recover was all but assured. Then she might be able to give them a first hand account of just what happened. The only thing left for the rest of the group to do was wait. 

Unfortunately for the group, words such as wait, patience, and calm had carried no weight in Inuyasha's mind. Inuyasha was action-oriented. He loved being in the midst of battle, fighting, leaping, and moving around in general. So to one such as himself, those words almost seemed evil.

It was, unfortunately because of that Inuyasha paced around the small hut that morning irritating all but Kaede and the monk as he moved. But like any caged animal, Inuyasha longed to be free, to have the feeling of the wind at his back once more, and to feel the euphoric feeling of adrenaline coursing through his body as he engaged his many adversaries in battle. But lately, he hadn't had the opportunity. Now with Sango off investigating the dagger, and the others hovering over Ayame's every breath, the chances of Inuyasha being able to get out and fight anything, anytime soon, were slim to none. That realization only served to piss him off even more.

"What the hell is taking so long?" Inuyasha exclaimed loudly, "You said she'd recover quickly, you old hag!"

"Aye, Inuyasha and she has. But 'tis not just healing that the young girl is in need of," Kaede replied calmly.

"What she means, Inuyasha, is that our beautiful guest needs time to rest," began the monk, "Fighting for one's life is very exhausting. After what she probably experienced, even someone as strong as Sango probably wouldn't be able to get out of bed for a week."

Inuyasha looked perturbed. Closing his eyes, Inuyasha slowly said to Miroku, "Even the simple act of explaining what Kaede said sounds lecherous coming from you, Monk."

Miroku opened his mouth to retort in his own defense, but at the last minute chose against it. Instead he smiled happily before replying serenely, "It's a gift."

The rest of the group, Kagome and Shippo, burst into fits of laughter after hearing Miroku's calm statement. Then a cough reverberated through the small hut, bringing the rest of the room's inhabitants to a near deathly silence. All eyes shifted back to the injured wolf demoness lying on a cot in Kaede's hut. She had turned over onto her side as her body was racked by violent coughs. Eventually the fit of coughs did subside, but not before she managed to cough up a sizable amount of blood which lay in a pool on the ground of Kaede's hut. Calmly and with the utmost delicacy, Kaede walked over to the still unconscious young woman, and eased her back onto her back, as she wiped the blood from her chin with a small cloth. She then wiped the blood up off of the floor before walking away from the girl to a basin filled with water. Kaede had just begun to clean the cloth when Kagome spoke up.

"Kaede," she said tentatively, "Why was she coughing blood like that? Is there something wrong with her?"

All eyes were on Kaede as she answered, "Nay child. I do not believe that this blood is indeed hers."

"Then who's is it," came Shippo's quick reply.

"Inuyasha, you said yourself that there was blood everywhere, did you not?" Inuyasha nodded. "Well it is my belief that the blood that she is coughing up is merely her body's way of ridding itself of the large amounts of blood that she ingested, while lying in the forest."

Shippo had a confused look on his face, so Kagome explained it to him. "What she means to say is that she swallowed a lot of blood, and its upsetting her stomach, so she is spitting it back out."

A look of understanding came over Shippo's face, as Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Inuyasha's eyes wandered after a moment to rest upon the visage of Ayame, as she lay there. He watched as a shiver ran up her body, and almost without thinking, he moved to her side. The furs that Kaede had laid over her had come off, probably while she was in her fit of coughs. Inuyasha took the item in his hand and began laying it upon the shaking woman, when something caught his eye. He finished pulling the furs onto Ayame, but then turned immediately to Kaede.

"Hey, old bat!" Inuyasha began, when Kagome called out his name. He simply waved her off and continued with his questioning, "When I brought her here she was wearing brown furs, but now she's wearing white. Where did you find those?"

"Those are the same clothes that she was wearing, Inuyasha. They were simply covered in dirt and dried blood, so they appeared brown. I cleaned that off after I treated her wounds," Kaede stated as she carried a damp cloth over to the unconscious girl, and wiped all the rest of the blood off of her.

Inuyasha wanted to say more, but was stopped when the light coming into the hut from the doorway was suddenly obstructed by a human sized shadow. All eyes turned in unison to figure out who it was that had just entered the hut. The person standing in the doorway turned out to be none other than Sango, carrying Kirara in her arms.

Kagome was the first to speak asking, "So, did you find anything?"

"Yeah," she replied in an even tone, "We got a bit just about all the information I think we're going to get around here."

"Well, I'm glad you're alright!" Kagome said cheerily.

"Well, you guys seem to be doing better than I am," she replied smiling. The entire group gave her a confuse look, including Kaede.

"What do you mean, dear Sango," Miroku asked in his most charming voice, as he suddenly found himself at her side, and his wandering hand found it way to her posterior.

An irritated look came over the demon slayers face for a moment before a resounding SMACK! Was heard throughout the village, and a giant red imprint of Sango's hand was left on the right cheek of the fallen monk. Then just as quick as her face had turned from happy to irritated, it reverted to her more serene look just as she began to answer Kagome's question.

"I mean our new guest!" she said in the most delightful voice she could muster, though it was still obvious to all, from both her tone, and the rosy hue of her cheeks, that Sango had no so easily forgotten the monks actions, "How long has she been awake?"

And it was because of her statement that the entire group once again shifted its attention. First they all looked upon Ayame when she went into her fit of coughs. Then when Sango appeared all eyes were on her. Now at hearing Sango's statement, all eyes once again returned to Ayame, who was indeed awake.

Sitting upright, she had her right hand covering her midsection, where the large gash was still healing, while her other hand propelled her steadily backward, toward the far corner, furthest away from everyone in the small hut. She had a frightened look on her face, as she looked around the room at each person and every possible exit in sight.

Ayame found her best chance of escape in a window very near the corner she was currently in. It was low enough to leap to from where she sat, and wide enough for her to get out cleanly. The only problem in Ayame's plan of escape was that she didn't have the strength. Her body could not support her, and just after her attempt at standing, she plummeted back to the ground, landing with a loud thud on her butt. Okay, the window was out. But she could still fight, and she would start with the oddly dressed female that now approached her. As soon as the girl was within range, Ayame reached for her sword, only to find that it wasn't there.

Now Ayame panicked. She was alone in an unfamiliar place, she was injured, and she just happened to have the great luck to be surrounded by a group of hostile people. How much more of this would she have to deal with? Her home had been attacked, and then as she was forced to flee, she was ambushed by another group of demons, and now this. It was too much for her to take. It was with that same spirit that she began to replay those past events in her head little by little until the memories consumed her attention completely…

_The sun was shining brightly in the sky, even though it had already begun its decent around the earth, in its daily routine when the moon took precedence in the sky. Almost the entire pack was outside, celebrating the something or another. Ayame didn't remember, nor did she care, as she reclined in the comfortable fruits of her father's battle prowess._

_Ayame's almost complete focus was on Kouga. Ever since he had made that promise to her, she had waited night and day for the day when she and her love could finally be together. And even though he sometimes dismissed her around others, she knew that they would one day be together, because he told her so, and that's all that mattered._

_Just then the entrance to her room burst open to reveal her older brother. Standing a head taller than her, he had long red hair, and piercing green eyes that struck fear in even the bravest of men. She noticed immediately that he was wearing a black chest plate covering his white furs as he stood before her. Ayame hated to ask what was going on, but knew that it wouldn't stop the inevitable, so looking into her brother's eyes she asked, "What's going on?"_

"_We've got company," said her brother, "There's a large force heading right for us. Father wants to see you."_

_He turned and left Ayame to sit and ponder his words for a moment, but not much longer. Her father was the current pack leader and wasn't one to be kept waiting. He had earned his reputation as an iron-fisted ruler and Ayame had experienced him in his most stern first handed. It was not something she wanted a repeat of. _

_Then as she got up and began dressing, she thought about what her brother had said. Why would anyone be dumb enough to attack her father? Outside of the current demon lord of the north, he was without a doubt the fiercest demon in the area, or so his reputation stated, and Ayame was sure that it wasn't very far from the truth. He had fought off hundreds of wolves that thought to take his place as leader. He had also been instrumental in the uprising that placed the current lord of the north in his position of power. So anyone going up against him would have to be an idiot, right?_

_Ayame didn't have any more time to ponder this, as she had somehow managed to find herself outside, and at her father's side. He was currently talking to one of his commanders, and so she waited. Their conversation was almost immediately wrapped up and he turned upon her._

"_Ayame, we have a situation. It seems that the war has managed to spill over into our woods," he explained, "I was hoping that it wouldn't come to this, but it is our duty to make sure that this force does not reach our lord's castle. It could be disastrous. I've already sent messengers out to a few of the other nearby wolf packs, and we should be able to hold them off until they get there."_

"_I understand," she began, "I will do what I can to defend our people."_

"_No," he said adamantly, "You won't."_

_Ayame looked at her father confusedly. "What do you mean?"_

"_I mean, you won't be here when the fighting starts._

"_But I…" she began but was cut off by her father._

"_But nothing," he said, "You're going, and that's final. I will not see my only daughter hurt or possibly killed in this fight."_

_Ayame's eyes were downcast as she asked, "What would you have me do, father?"_

_He looked at her for a moment, and then replied, "The northern lands are not safe for you at the moment. I want you to head, west, into the lands of Sesshoumaru. His lands are neutral territory and none from the war would dare attack you there."_

_Looking back at her father one more time, she nodded sadly before turning away from her father, her friends, and her home as she sprinted off into the forest. She ran for nearly a half an hour before stopping to take a breath. Looking around she found herself all alone in the forest, with naught but the insects scurrying around her for company. Her thoughts almost immediately turned to her pack. They were fighting right now, defending the land that they all lived in. Yet, here she was, miles away from them, fleeing from danger. She knew her father was only trying to protect her, but she just couldn't bring herself to take another step away from the fighting. It was in that moment that what she had to do became crystal clear. She turned around, and ran back home. Her father would be upset that she didn't follow his orders, but eventually he would realize that she he choice was for the good of the whole pack. For the time being though, she just needed to get there._

_Her return took just as long as her departure from the pack's caves and in half an hour she had reached the edge forest that surrounded the area in which her pack resided. She peered through, as a battle raged on. Hundreds of demons fought on the open grassy area that not twenty minutes ago had been a place for celebration. It pained her to see the blatant disregard for her traditions by these demons from the south, but even her sadness from that was eclipsed by what happened next. _

_It happened about thirty seconds after she arrived. Scanning the area, she quickly found the spot where her father fought (she couldn't seem to find her brother). Demon after demon fell before his killing blade. None were any match for him. It seemed, by the way that her father was slicing through the enemy ranks, that she might not be needed after all. Smiling to herself, she began to turn around when, out of nowhere, a demon appeared behind her father. _

_She tried to yell for him to watch out, but with the sounds of battle so thick in the air, she barely heard herself. She was forced to watch, as the demon, plunged her blade into her father's back. He naturally stiffened, and in that short amount of time, another demon was able to come to attack from in front of her father. His strength was fading fast now, with his blood pouring out onto the grass in a river of scarlet, but he managed to block the oncoming attack, and somehow launch a last attack that killed nearly fifty demons around him. But the demon that had snuck up behind him was too quick and dodged out of the way before she was hit._

_Ayame took off. Sprinting out onto the field, she fought her way through the thicket of demons, until she once again had a clear view of her father. He had dropped to one knee, and his eyes were blood red. Ayame knew she was too late, but pressed on anyway. Because of this, she got a front row view as the demoness ended her father's life with one stroke of her sword. Ayame was at her father's side in an instant._

"_Father! Father, please hold on!" she began as she cradled him in her arms._

_He looked up at her. He seemed to be using all of his willpower to hold back the pain, and so Ayame was not sure what he thought of her being here. Not a word was spoken. They sat for a few seconds together in silence, in what would be the last time she ever saw her father. His last words to her were, "Be safe." Then his eyes became distant and his life ended._

"_It saddens me that one so young would have to go through this, but it had to be done," she replied before turning to walk away._

_Ayame lay her father's head down onto the ground, before she once again rose to her feet. Drawing her sword she rushed at the demoness who had just taken her father's life. The woman easily dodged the attack with a quick spin that placed her behind Ayame. Then with a small kick in the back, she sent Ayame face first into the mud._

"_Give up, little girl. Get out of here before you lose your life as well!"_

_Ayame rose to her feet, and charged at her opponent, as she yelled, "Murderer! You killed my father!"_

_The female attacker managed to barely pull out her sword in time to block the flurry of swipes sent at her by the angry Ayame, but she still escaped without a mark on her. Then once out of harm's way, she spoke in reply to the young wolf demoness' accusations. "This is war, little girl! People die, besides only humans deal with such pathetic terms as murder. If you never learn anything else as long as you live, learn this: In the demon world there are the weak and there are the strong. The strong survive and the weak do not. I suggest you figure out which one you are before it's too late."_

_Fighting between the two resumed immediately. Ayame leaped up above the female, coming down with a crushing downward swipe of her sword, but her opponent was too quick for her, and managed to get out of the way long before Ayame hit the ground. But Ayame kept at it, rushing right back at her opponent time and time again, as the female simply toyed with her, until one particularly quick swing hit its mark, and left a nasty gash on the woman's upper arm._

_That, of course ended her fun, and she immediately got into battle mode. When Ayame charged in with an overhead swing, the female demon moved right at her, but to Ayame's left. Her blade followed wide, and with a quick jerk of her weapon, she managed to slice a considerable mark into Ayame's abdomen. The young demoness immediately stopped her attack, which only served to help her attacker even more._

_In a quick move, the older demoness managed to knock Ayame's sword from her hand, then spin around behind her to kick her legs out from under her. Ayame reacted quickly, ducking low, so as to dodge the swing that came for her head. She rolled to the side, retrieving her blade, then spun back toward the demoness with her blade, cutting into the female demon's leg. She hissed at Ayame, and was about to attack when she froze. _

_She looked past Ayame, with a look of fear on her face that disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared. Confused, Ayame stopped for a moment as well, but didn't move out of a defensive position. Then in a move that confused Ayame, the female demon smiled, and said, "My work is done here!" before she tossed some powder on the ground near Ayame that caused smoke to rise up all around her. _

_When it cleared, Ayame's opponent was nowhere to be seen, along with any of the other attackers, and any live member of her pack. But Ayame's didn't get a chance to think about that, as her vision began to blur. The last thing she saw was a hooded humanoid creature with a mask over his face, hovering over her. She couldn't see any part of his body, except for his eyes. The rest of his body was covered in a black material. But those eyes, those violet eyes, she thought as her world turned black, are so pretty, yet so cold…_

_

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**Kristen398**: I'm glad you liked the story. Hopefully you'll like the rest too.

**Kiyana Va Sala**: All good things come in time. But from what I hear from many people, I may just need to post it on another site in a more free version, when the time comes. I'm glad you liked my choice of pairings. Who knows, if I write this one well enough I may just turn around and write one of those.

**Inuyashasgirl4eva333:** I'm glad you liked it. And about the furs, thank you. I'm not sure how something like that eluded me, but it did.

**Thank you all for your reading, and for your reviews. Hopefully the next chapters come out faster.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 03**

The sun had just begun its ascent into the morning sky, and lord Sesshoumaru was there, standing on the balcony of his room, to view it. Rays of golden light shot out across the countryside, bringing new life and energy to the lands over which he ruled. Unfortunately that particular swelling of light didn't reflect upon the lord's current mood.

Wars like the one currently being waged by the lords of the south & east against the lord of the north were bad for everyone. But as of now, lord Sesshoumaru had managed to keep his area relatively safe and secure through his policy of neutrality. But just a few days ago, that element of neutrality was compromised. A portion, however small in size, of that war had spread into his lands, and now the peace in his lands which he had worked so hard to maintain was on the brink of destruction because of the actions of the a few incompetent demons.

A group of over a dozen demons had snuck onto his lands from the east, intending to sneak around the north's defenses. But midway through their march, his agents reported that they were met by an unknown assailant who promptly killed them all. Now lord Sesshoumaru has a problem. Not because the lord of the east would be upset, because her men's lives were forfeit the moment she presumed to send them onto his lands, nor because of the lord of the south, since Sesshoumaru cared for him almost as much as he did humans. No, he had a problem because this event could, and most likely would, strain relations with the lord of the north, as well as the fact that there was some mysterious demon out there right now doing his job for him, and well. In his world, that was as clear a challenge to his power as any, and Sesshoumaru never backed down from a challenge. If this demon wanted his title, he would have to fight for it, and this Sesshoumaru never lost a fight.

But even so, lord Sesshoumaru was going to need to make a decision quickly if he hoped to avoid unnecessary bloodshed because of this event. Before the great demon lord could make any type of decision though, he would have to know exactly what happened. Then he would make the offending parties woe the day they ever stepped foot onto the lands of lord Sesshoumaru. Maybe somewhere buried underneath the endless piles of garbage he was bound to get in the reports he requested, there would be some clue as to what happened that night or who the mysterious element was.

For that reason, he decided that it was about time he looked over those reports. Without turning back, the demon lord called out to his main advisor, "Jaken!"

The small toad was at his master's side in a flash. His exuberance at being desired by his master showed clear as the sun as he asked, "What can I do for you, Lord Sesshoumaru?"

Sesshoumaru didn't turn his head, but instead moved only his eyes downward to look upon the minute toad demon that served him. The under-sized demon bowed in respect as the demon lord's gaze fell upon him. His peers, if that word could be used to describe anyone, constantly nagged him, inquiring as to why he allowed such a powerless demon as Jaken to stand in his presence, let alone serve as his chief advisor. But to him Jaken had something that few of his 'peers' could ever understand. All they knew was power, but to the great demon lord of the west, there was something that Sesshoumaru wanted more than just brute strength. To him, the most important thing for his chief advisor to be was loyal.

Sesshoumaru could easily find thousands of powerful demons, but not one even half as loyal as his current advisor. Jaken took the word loyal to all new heights. Since his appointment as the chief advisor to this Sesshoumaru, Jaken's entire life has revolved around the service of the great demon lord. The very chance, it seemed, to be able to do his lord's biddings was almost ecstasy to the diminutive toad demon, and if nothing else, that was the reason why the lord of the west kept him around.

Sesshoumaru continued to look down at his advisor for another moment before he spoke asking of his advisor, "What new information do you have on the 'incident' in the north-east region?"

"Nothing much, my lord," Jaken replied sadly, "and I'm not so sure that you don't already know this already."

"Humor me," said Sesshoumaru stoically, "What have you found?"

The toad demon cleared his throat, then pulled a map out of his robes and laid it out onto a nearby table before continuing, "My lord, from what I have found out about the group, they weren't what I would have sent if I wanted to sneak through another's territory, knowing it wasn't allowed."

"You think that this group was some sort of diversion?" asked the demon lord.

"Yes my lord, and though it seemed not to work as well as they would have liked…" Jaken was cut off by Sesshoumaru voice.

The great demon lord of the west had walked over to the table on which Jaken had placed the map, and was staring at his chief advisor. "What do you mean by it didn't work as well as they would have liked?"

"Well the other two groups we found, my lord," Jaken replied, but by the look on his lord's face he could tell that he didn't know, so he explained, "Yesterday another two groups of demons, both larger than the one that we were just discussing were found a ways north of this group. Both were in the upwards of fifty demons and both were in the same position as this group, sliced up with blood everywhere."

"Why was I not informed of this earlier?" asked Sesshoumaru.

"I was informed that you already knew, my lord!" exclaimed the frightened toad demon as he cowered in fear of his lord, begging for forgiveness.

Sesshoumaru paid little attention to his pleas. Turning back to the map he asked, "Was anything found in the other two areas?"

"Yes my lord," replied Jaken as he reached back into his and removed a small blade, "Two of these were recovered, one from each site. I have this one, but the other I gave to one of your agents to discern its origins."

Sesshoumaru took the dagger from Jaken's hand and began to look it over. The dagger looked ordinary enough to the lord of the west, and he almost tossed it aside, when something on the hilt caught his attention. On one side, a green insignia was burned into the hilt and on the other a name. The closest thing to a smile crossed Sesshoumaru's lips.

"This is going to make things very interesting," the great demon lord said.

"What's wrong my lord?" Jaken asked confused.

Again Sesshoumaru did not answer the diminutive toad demon. Instead he responded with a question of his own. What little bit of happiness that was on the lord's face vanished to be replaced by the usual stoic expression he wore when he asked, "How is it that all of these demons managed to get onto my lands without my knowledge?"

"I-I am not sure my lord," Jaken replied, "Our scouts out in that area never reported anything."

Sesshoumaru wasn't too happy with Jaken's reply. "Send a few of our agents out there to find out if they are still alive, and if they are send them to me."

"Yes, my lord. I will get on it right away," Jaken said before refolding the map and placing both it and the dagger back inside of his robes. After that he bowed and turned to leave the room.

"Wait Jaken, that is not all," lord Sesshoumaru replied, stopping Jaken in his tracks.

"How else may I help you, my lord," Jaken asked.

"Have you found out anything more about our mysterious attacker?"

"No, my lord. There were no witnesses present, that we know of."

"You believe different?" asked Sesshoumaru.

"The first scene we looked at was disturbed when we arrived. Also, I know you're not going to like this but we have reason to believe that your brother was there."

Sesshoumaru grimaced. "Look into it. I want to know who this mysterious assailant is. And if that filthy desecration of my bloodline happens to be involved, I want to know why and how."

"Lord Sesshoumaru, lord Sesshoumaru! We have visitors!" Rin exclaimed as she ran into the room.

"Filthy humans!" Jaken practically spat at the young girl, "Lord Sesshoumaru would never lower himself to…"

"Jaken!" came a stern exclamation from the lord of the west.

"Yes my lord," Jaken inquired.

"Find out who it is."

"As you wish, my lord," Jaken said before turning to rush out the door.

Jaken hurriedly retired from the room. He began walking toward the front entrance so as to find out just who would dare to disturb his lord at a time like this. He reached the door after a substantial trek through the mansion, and opening the door, he prepared to tell off whatever impudent person that dared encroach upon his master's property uninvited. But looking outside the mansion, Jaken found no one.

"Are you looking for us?" a soft, feminine voice spoke to Jaken from behind.

Jaken spun around quickly to find himself face to face with an armed group of half a dozen strange looking wolf demons prepared for battle inside of his lord's home. Garbed in dark furs and having dark skin themselves, these demons looked more like assassins than bodyguards, which unnerved the small demon quite a bit. But they were all males. The voice he heard was distinctly feminine. Then a movement caught his eye and he found the target of his search. His jaw dropped almost to the floor, when he saw her. Standing at just over 5' tall, the beautiful young female had long light brown hair, smooth ivory skin, and a pair of the most vibrantly enchanting violet eyes that he had ever seen.

For the briefest of moments Jaken stood there, mesmerized by the beauty of the young demoness who stood before him before he regained his touch with reality enough to ask, "Who are you and what is your business with lord Sesshoumaru?"

The woman spoke up, "My name is Keiko, and I am here representing my father, lord Kenshiro, demon lord of the north."

Jaken's face paled instantly and his eyes bugged out at hearing her introduce herself. His master frequently spoke of her, and on many occasions left Jaken to care for Rin as he went to see her. Jaken knew because on one such occasion he had followed his master.

The memory of that event stuck in his mind because lord Sesshoumaru never actually spoke with her, or even came in contact with her. He simply watched her for a time, from far away before turning back toward the western lands over which he held domain. Jaken was sure in some way his lord had feelings for this female, similar in a way to his feelings for Rin, but much different at the same time. But Jaken was quite intelligent, and mentioning such suspicions as that to his master would be like teasing a hungry tiger.

Jaken once again snapped out of his thoughts. He had delayed his lord for too long. So once back in the real world he turned heel and scurried off back up into the mansion to find his master and inform him of their visitors. Three long hallways and two flights of stairs later, Jaken finally found himself back in the company of his lord. Rin wasn't in the room, so he assumed that the unpredictable little girl had run off to go play. He merely shrugged her out of his mind and continued to approach his master, who had once again returned to stand out on the balcony.

"Lord Sesshoumaru," Jaken said upon reaching his master's side, "Your guests are none other than Lady Keiko, daughter of lord Kenshiro, lord of the northern lands, and six of her guards. They await you downstairs, my lord. What would you have me do?"

"Bring them into the main guest room," replied Sesshoumaru, "I will be down shortly."

"Yes my lord," Jaken replied before rushing out of the room to do his lord's bidding.

Sesshoumaru continued to stand by the window, staring out at the far reaching expanse of grass and trees that went on as far as the eye could see outside of his window. His thoughts though, were not on the landscape, but the beautiful young woman waiting for him downstairs.

_After all these years you've finally come. But why? What is the purpose of you coming here today? Are you here to tell me what I want to hear, or are you hear to tell me what I don't? I know it can't be because of this. We are just now finding out about this, and I am sure Kenshiro would never risk relations with me, he's the most honorable of us. So why are you here Keiko? Logic tells me I don't want to know, but then again I've long since given up trying to decipher your brother's motives, and we all know you're the most thoughtful of the pair. So I'll hear what you have to say, and we'll go from there._

Ten minutes passed as Keiko sat patiently in the guest quarters awaiting the appearance of lord Sesshoumaru. The little toad demon, Jaken she believed his name was, had told them that his master would be with them right away. But time was ticking and the demon lord had yet to show his face. Waiting for people was never a pleasant thing to do, but Keiko didn't seem to mind much, though her companions were far from sharing her feelings. It seemed that just about all of her guards were irritated, and unhappy demons made for turbulent situations. It also didn't help the situation any that Jaken chose that moment to stroll into the room.

He had a scroll in his hand and was too busy reading it to notice where he was going. He nearly walked into Keiko but for one of her guards who acted quickly and stepped protectively in between the oblivious toad demon and the demoness he was charged to protect before the collision could occur. Well, the collision between the lady and the toad at least. A collision did occur, just not involving Keiko. Instead the collision was between the miniature toad demon and Keiko's guard, resulting in Jaken falling backwards onto the ground.

Jaken looked up into the eyes of the beast as it spoke saying, "Where is your master, toad?"

Jaken pulled himself off the ground and after straightening his clothes, looked up into the eyes of the offending demon to reply, "Lord Sesshoumaru will not be rushed for the likes of you! Maybe for her, but you are not worthy to stand in the presence of my lord's excrement!"

The wolf demon was obviously offended as he snarled menacingly before reaching down to snatch the diminutive toad demon off of the ground. But before his hands made contact with Jaken's body, the calm, melodic voice of Lady Keiko resonated throughout the room.

"It would be wise of you to show some restraint," began the tiny young demoness, "We are in the territory of another demon lord now, so my father's influence will not help us here and lord Sesshoumaru is not known for his compassion. Besides, it's just impolite to come into someone's home and manhandle their help."

"You are correct as always, my lady," Sesshoumaru replied as he entered the room, "I would have thought it in very bad taste were he to lay a hand on my chief advisor."

Keiko immediately rose from her seat to curtsey before the lord of the west. She kept her eyes cast downward as she spoke, "Lord Kenshiro of the north sends his regards, and thanks you for meeting with his daughter. He hopes you will not take offense at him sending me and that your health is well."

"I thank your father for his concern, and take no offense at him sending you to represent him," Sesshoumaru then moved, quick as lightning to stand right in front of the small woman, taking her hand into his as he continued, "Why don't the two of us retreat to my private chambers to discuss whatever business you have more privately."

Keiko nodded, not once looking at Sesshoumaru in the eyes, before she turned to look at her guards. They all had bewildered expressions on their faces, for in all the time they had been in her service; they had never seen her act so, submissive. The sudden change of attitude was perplexing at best. Keiko seemed not to notice.

"The lord and I are going to go speak in private," she said softly, "We will return shortly."

One of the guards stepped forward and said, "But my lady, how are we to protect you?"

"No harm will come to me here. I can assure you of that," she said before following the demon lord out of the room and to his private chambers.

They took their time walking to his chambers because it happened to be located on the other side of the mansion. But eventually they arrived, and Keiko had to admit that the room was different from anything she had ever seen before. The room was void of a single window, so remained in a state of perpetual night, getting its only light when the doors were closed from the synthetic starlight that encompassed the entirety of the ceiling. Keiko really didn't have the chance to look around much more after that because the demon lord turned around to usher her in, effectively blocking her view.

Turning back toward the small demoness, the first thing Sesshoumaru noticed was her Kimono. It's brilliant violet decorations shimmered beauteously in the dim light of his room. The object of his affections for so many years, the young demoness now being in his presence threw him off balance, for but a moment. Then he regained his composure and ushered her into a lavish chair in the center of the room, before he too took a seat in the chair next to her. The two chairs were angled toward each other so he still had a good view of her.

Looking over at the young demoness, lord Sesshoumaru gently touched her chin with his left hand, raising it so for the first time their eyes locked. She flinched slightly at his touch but didn't pull away once the contact was made. His amber eyes pierced through her violet ones that looked back at him and he saw something in them that reminded him somewhat of the fearful looks many of his adversaries held before they died.

"Do I scare you, my lady?" Sesshoumaru asked of his guest.

Her eyes went suddenly wide with surprise at hearing him ask his question. Her nervousness wasn't something she was trying to convey in her eyes, but the pressure of meetings such as this and this demon's presence, was obviously shown in her eyes no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Then the shock wore off, and almost immediately she shook her head no. Then a slight blush formed in her cheeks. She tried to look away, but the combined efforts of his hand on her chin and his engaging eyes kept her in place.

"Then tell me," the demon lord of the west said in a soothing tone, "Why is it that you seem averse to so much as looking at me."

"I-" she began to speak but couldn't for the words to express her feelings. There was a silence for a moment before she once again spoke saying, "I apologize, my lord. It is just that with the war, and the sudden plethora of suitors coming to our home, I…"

"Suitors?" Sesshoumaru did not like where this was going.

"Yes my lord. Before I left, there were hundreds in my father's home pledging to help my father in exchange for me. It got so bad that even a young lord from the south tried to barter for me. Normally my father would have killed him, but with all of his energy going into the war, he didn't have the energy to deal with the young demon. So, he just sent him away," Keiko explained sadly.

Sesshoumaru couldn't help but feel a small twinge of jealousy as she spoke, but that was quickly squashed, or possibly just hidden very well, when he replied, "Why not leave them to your brother then?"

Keiko suddenly became very morose. A frown formed on her lips and her eyes were close to tears as she replied, "He's gone."

"When did that happen?" Sesshoumaru asked, curiosity overpowering his tact.

"A few years ago. Back when the north and south were fighting last time," she replied.

_A few years ago? Is she kidding? That war happened before Inuyasha was pinned to the Goshinboku!_ Sesshoumaru merely sighed and shook his head before asking, "What happened to him?"

"H-He killed himself," she said as a tear rolled onto her cheek, "after one of my father's ex-generals killed his mate and child."

"I assume by ex, you mean as soon as your brother found out, the demon was killed," said Sesshoumaru getting a nod from the saddened girl. But he continued to inquire about her brother nonetheless. "Alright, so then your brother slit his own throat?"

Keiko shook her head 'no' as she moved about uncomfortably in her seat. Then she opened her mouth to say, "He followed them."

"To hell?" asked an astonished Sesshoumaru. Keiko nodded. _Even her squirming is getting to me._ Sesshoumaru thought for a moment before continuing by asking, "So then there's still a chance that he is still alive."

Keiko again shook her head 'no'. This time her reply was more controlled. "My brother's sword was recovered a few weeks later. We weren't going to get a better sign than that. He never even went to sleep without his sword."

Another small pause in the conversation hovered in the air for a moment before Sesshoumaru replied by saying in his usual tone, "My condolences. Maybe it would be better to move on to business now."

Keiko nodded, wiping the tears from her cheek, then said, "Well let's get the formalities out of the way to begin. There are rumors spreading that you are secretly allowing demons from the east and south to enter your forests, to attack us by way of the border we share."

"That of course is untrue," proclaimed lord Sesshoumaru.

"Would you allow some of our men in to make inquiries of their own?"

"You also know that I cannot do that," replied Sesshoumaru. _But there is something that I would like to do._

Keiko nodded. "I wouldn't expect you to. Now then, have you reconsidered our offer of an alliance."

"I still have no cause to enter my lands into a war that has nothing to do with me."

"You soon will, I can guarantee you that," replied Keiko knowingly, "Also this isn't straight from my father's mouth, but I can assure you that if it is in his power to give, he would gladly give you just about anything for aide in this fight against the demons of the east and south. All you have to do is tell us what it is that you want."

_What I want, is you._ Sesshoumaru stared at her for a moment before saying, "You said there were hundreds of suitors at your home before you left. Have you picked one?"

"No my lord. Regardless of my feelings for them I cannot bind myself to any of those that came, for the tide of this war, and the fate of the northern lands, could change drastically based on who I bring into this conflict. I must find a suitable mate to help us defeat those who would do harm to our people."

"You would alter your life to fit the needs of the man who got your territory into this war in the first place?" Sesshoumaru asked confusedly.

"My father did not start this war my lord," she said slightly upset, "but even if he had, I would give my life for those that I love."

Sesshoumaru thought about what she said for a moment, then thought about the egregious offense that had been perpetrated against him by the rulers of the east. He knew what was to happen. One offense was forgivable, and maybe two in time. But to send three different groups meant that the rulers thought him a joke. So it was time that he taught them otherwise.

Sesshoumaru stood up abruptly and reached out his left hand for Keiko. She readily took his hand, rising to her feet as well, though she was confused as to what was going on. Sesshoumaru seemed to sense her confusion as he led her further into the room away from the furnishing on which they had just been seated.

A few seconds passed before the demon lord made and abrupt stop and, turning to his petite guest said, "You know you're right. I think it is time that I reconsider your offer," before his mouth descended upon hers, enveloping the two in a fervent kiss.

To say that she was shocked would have been the understatement of the year. For about five seconds, she just stood there unsure of what was going on and what she was supposed to do, while the great demon lord continued his explorations of the inside of her mouth. Her breathe quickened, and her heart skipped a beat. In her mind she knew that this was wrong, unacceptable by her standards, but for some reason it just felt so good. And soon reason gave way to passion, leading the petite young demoness to join in exploring her partner's mouth.

Sesshoumaru's hands worked their way down her back, caressing her skin through the folds of her outfit with every step, incurring no resistance as they continued their decent. Eventually the demon lord broke the kiss and began working on her neck, licking, sucking, biting, and doing anything else in his power to pleasure the young woman.

When her mouth was once again freed, a small sense of self returned to the demoness. She once again realized what she was doing, and where this could lead. Opening her mouth she attempted to speak to the passionate demon lord and convince him to stop before things went too far.

"M-My **Lord**!" her voice went up a few pitches, as his hands grabbed onto her by her butt and lifted her off of the ground as she came in contact for the first time with his growing member. Another moan was elicited from her mouth and she tried to continue. "T-This c-c-can't, Aaah!" she said as she found herself falling, then landing on the soft, cushion of his bed.

Quickly closing the gap between the two yet again, Sesshoumaru began to kiss the young demoness with renewed vigor. His delicate touches once again worked their way down her body, as they searched for the clasps to her kimono. Sesshoumaru ground his hardened member into her, rubbing up against the glistening treasure that he so desperately sought to uncover. Finally, he found the clasps. With the speed and grace of one who had done this a thousand times, he had them unhooked, and her kimono opened. She still wore robes underneath that, but they too fell to his exploring hands in a matter of seconds, as the great demon lord worked his way down, to his prize.

In mere seconds, the great demon lord had unbound the clothes that covered her luscious physique and though s small cloth still covered his ultimate goal, Sesshoumaru was happy. Breaking their kiss again, the great demon lord planted a string of kisses down her body, sending tendrils of pleasure down the aggravated young demoness' spine. She didn't protest this time. Her mind was way too far gone, wrapped up in the pleasures of the demon lord's attentions. She wanted this now as bad as he did, she couldn't care less about the consequences.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. A loud knock rapped on the door to the room. Sesshoumaru and Keiko ignored the noise. Continuing his decent, his mouth came in contact with one soft, supple orb, as his right hand massaged the other. He had her moaning in pleasure when the sound of the door creaking open and a voice killed the moment.

"My lord," Jaken replied shakily, "Y-your brother wishes an audience with you!"

Sesshoumaru turned to look at his servant with malice and a world of pain promised in his eyes, only to see his advisor pass out on his floor. It was then he noticed the bruise on Jaken's head. Inwardly he cursed. But it wasn't until Keiko pulled out from under him that he became really upset. He watched as she jumped off of the bed and away from him, closing the folds of her clothing of her body once more.

Footsteps approached the door, and the first thing he saw was a head of silver hair flowing into the room. Keiko saw it as well, and turning away, she scampered off into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. The silver haired demon in the doorway smirked at seeing the woman run off into the bathroom. He, entered Sesshoumaru's private chambers followed by five others. Sesshoumaru was expending all of his energy at the moment to stay calm.

Then his brother spoke. "Are we interrupting something?" Sesshoumaru's hands started shaking at that point as he tried hard to control himself, a clear sign to anyone with half a brain to shut up and possibly run, but not Inuyasha. Inuyasha was having too much fun at his brother's situation, and just had to throw in one more jab for good measure. "Wow, and here I was sure that my older brother liked guys!"

That did it. With a loud growl, the demon lord turned once more to look at the closed door that seemed to be mocking him. All of his anger was evident as he yelled out one word that carried for quite a distance.

**"FUCK!"**

* * *

**Kiyana Va Sala**What can I say? When it comes to covering my ass, I am exceedingly well trained. And unless I can somehow write those more mature scenes well enough to place on this site without people complaining, I'll probably start posting there as well. I'll see how it turns out. Lastly, about the beta reader, you are right. I do need to find one and as of right now, I'm on the hunt for one. If you can think of anyone interested, send them my way. I could use any help I can get.

**Inuyashasgirl4eva333** I am extremely happy you enjoyed my story so far. I'm sorry it took so long to review. I could never keep to a deadline. Hopefully you like the story more as the chapters go on.

**Tai-for-you**Thanks for the support. I'll try to get things moving quicker, and hopefully more interesting. We shall see.

**RickyElRey** Isn't it so nice to be loved! You do have a point about the people being ooc. A question though, did you think the Inuyasha scene was too detailed because of the length of the chapter or just too detailed, period? Miroku will start being himself more often as the story continues, and everything else will fall into its proper place as things progress.

**_Before I go to start work on chapter four, I must beseech you all. Please review. Regardless of what you think of the chapter. I'm interested to see a different perspective on my writing, and please don't spare my feelings. I'm not going to break down and cry if you say you hated something about the story. The only way I can correct a problem is if I know what it is. So thank you all for reading, and I hope you return for chapter four!_**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 04

Inuyasha laughed at his elder brother's obvious consternation. After all the years that the great Lord Sesshoumaru had made Inuyasha's life miserable, whether it be taunts or embarrassing defeats, it was good to be able to turn the tables on him, so much so that his mouth just didn't know when to stop running. Taunt after taunt came spewing out of the hanyou's mouth as he attempted to get another rise from his brother.

"Ha, and you call yourself the great Sesshoumaru!"

"It's Lord Sesshoumaru, you imbecile. And I wouldn't expect one as low as you to understand how to act in the presence of your betters." Sesshoumaru said that last bit in an icily disgusted tone.

Surprisingly Inuyasha took the comment in stride, instead of lashing out with his blade. Laughing more with himself than with anyone in particular, Inuyasha made his last smart-ass comment of the day. "Those are big words coming from someone whose woman was ashamed to even be seen with you. But then again I knew all those big words would come back to haunt you when they saw how truly small you were."

Almost immediately the room's interior began to shimmer and change form. Inuyasha's four companions shifted back nervously behind their ill-mannered friend. Ayame, it seemed, had managed to slip away without anyone being the wiser, in the midst of the siblings' verbal sparring session. Kagome was the first to notice the wolf demoness' absence, but was stopped from pointing it out as the surroundings finally finished shifting, settling on an open field.

Gone were all of the furnishings, and even the doors that had once adorned the room. This was truly amazing. The grass, the castle, the sky…Kagome stopped and did a double take to her left. There standing about a kilometer to her left was the very castle they should have been standing within. That's when it hit her and the rest of the group. They really **_were_** outside. But time to question how would have to come later, as movement in the corner of her eye brought her back to the current situation.

Quickly and with the utmost grace, Sesshoumaru unsheathed Tokujin from his waist and swung it to his side with his left hand. Inuyasha too drew his sword, but stopped at seeing his brother wielding a weapon with his left arm. But he merely shook his head and progressed toward his awaiting enemy.

"This is not going to end well," Sango stated bluntly as the others watched on from behind.

The pair clashed quickly in a blur of blinding speed only recognized by the others by the reflecting light from the swords and sound of clashing blades. Then Inuyasha came flying back toward them, and they all knew how this fight was to turn out. Kagome tried to talk Inuyasha out of fighting his older brother, but he acted exactly the same as he always did, and Kagome was forced to take a backseat to the heated sibling rivalry lest she become a casualty to their perpetual squabbling.

Inuyasha again played the aggressor in the pair's next clashing of blades, hacking and slashing at his elder brother all the while Sesshoumaru blocked his attacks with a bored ease to his movements. Eventually Inuyasha did manage to land one slash however small, that made a small smear of blood appear on the dog demon lord's right shoulder.

Then and there Sesshoumaru decided to end the toying with his younger sibling. When next Inuyasha lashed out at him, coming down upon him with a strike after leaping into the air, Sesshoumaru began his assault. The great demon lord used a considerable amount of strength in his parry, sending his brother to the ground halfway between himself and his companions.

Inuyasha growled as he rose to his feet. That was the second time in this fight that his brother had sent him to the ground, and it was quickly becoming an annoyance. Inuyasha advanced again toward his enemy, intent on disemboweling him with his claws if need be.

"Give up, half-breed. Realize when you have been defeated, and discontinue your meddling in my affairs. You will never defeat me, no matter what you try." Sesshoumaru said that all with a tone that seemed to mock the young hanyou while not shifting a single octave up or down.

Inuyasha, of course, was pissed, but also confused. That's why as he leapt forward and attacked his brother yet again, he queried, "What the hell are you on about!?"

Sesshoumaru's parry once again sent the seething hanyou back a few meters, but not onto his butt, like the two previous times he was knocked back. This time he landed on his feet, bracing himself as his momentum pushed him back a few more feet in an attempt to throw him onto his back. But he stayed firm and once again began to advance on his ice cold brother when the reply came.

"You idiocy is renown throughout the lands, but even an ignoramus such as yourself cannot possibly be so dense as to have forgotten this." The look Inuyasha, and the rest of the group for that matter, sent him forced the demon lord to amend his presumptions as his little brother came at him.

Parrying each attack with the grace and elegance with which one of his station at all times carried themselves, he continued, "Well, I guess I once again underestimated you, little brother. Your stupidity amazes even me. Let me refresh your memory. Small clearing in the woods. Bits and pieces of dismembered demons strewn about all over the place. Maybe even one of these," Sesshoumaru said as freed himself of Inuyasha enough to draw out the small dagger that he nicked off of his diminutive retainer.

Inuyasha paused, "How did you know-"

"I know many things," said Sesshoumaru as he rushed at his brother for the first time in their current scuffle, "But what I want to know from you is why you were there."

There was a short pause in the speech while Inuyasha tried to defend himself, rather poorly, against the offensive onslaught of his elder brother before managed force Sesshoumaru back. Inuyasha then balked his reply. "Heh! And you think I'm going to tell you!?"

"As I should have guessed," Sesshoumaru stated calmly, "It was too much to think that you would actually have a part in something like that, you like the mental, and physical, fortitude to pull off something like that. But someone like you is stupid enough to loot their corpses. I will have that blade back!"

"Over my dead body!" Inuyasha barked loudly.

"As you wish," Sesshoumaru said extending the sword to send a stream of energy into Inuyasha that shot him to the ground fifty feet back.

Inuyasha jumped back to his feet, and raising his sword he made a downward swipe toward his elder sibling screaming with all his might, "BACKLASH WAVE!!!"

A torrent of energy swept past Inuyasha as multiple tornados formed in the area all headed at Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha looked on with glee as he spoke, "And so it ends, **_Lord_** Sesshoumaru!"

For seconds nothing could be seen through the cloud of mist that had settled over the area following the burst of energy and the immense explosion fifty yards away. Sheathing his sword, Inuyasha clanged through the wreckage toward the corpse he was sure to find in the wake of such destruction.

A slight clanging sound was heard just ahead, and Inuyasha started forward a bit more cautiously to see what might be there. Not for any fear of his brother, for after an attack like that, there was no way he could be alive. But this area was crawling with demons that were just waiting for the chance to devour the body and essence of another downed youkai. That was what made what stood before him even more outrageous.

When the smoke and mist finally cleared from the area, Inuyasha and co. let out a collective gasp. Then a cry was heard as a huge torrent of blue energy smashed into Inuyasha, who barely got his sword up in time to deflect a portion of the attack that sent him down into a heap on the ground at the feet of his companions.

Both Sango and Miroku got into battle stances as Kagome ran to Inuyasha to check his wounds. She had tears in her eyes looking down at his prone form, but looked up immediately as she heard the sound of Sango letting loose her Hiraikotsu. The angered demon lord walked slowly toward the group, not even stopping as he easily countered the demon-hunter's attack. Sango caught the weapon roughly as the demon lord approached.

Kagome stepped in front of Inuyasha in the hopes that her actions would stop the demon lord's. When it became obvious that they wouldn't, she tried another approach. "You've won already! We already realize how strong you are! Killing him isn't going to prove anything. What else could you possibly want?"

Sesshoumaru didn't respond to her query, instead choosing to continue on toward his fallen opponent while at the same time replacing his blade in its sheathe. The group visibly tensed up, and prepared to defend Inuyasha with their very lives if it came to it, when the Kitsune spoke up in response to Kagome's question.

"Maybe he's here for the Tessaiga again," said the young fox demon, "Isn't that what he usually wants when he fights with Inuyasha?"

Kagome nodded in agreement with her minute companion, and then turned back to the quickly advancing demon lord to ask, "What could you possibly do with the Tessaiga? You can't even hold it!"

"I care not for that pathetic excuse for a weapon, you impudent wench!" Sesshoumaru said, annoyed at the sheer audacity of a mere human to speak in his presence, much less to him.

"Then what is it that you want?" This query, surprisingly, came from the Kitsune, who, emboldened by the fact that the demon lord hadn't yet killed Kagome, decided to risk his hide to assuage his curiosity.

Sesshoumaru looked down at the puny fox demon, before replying in a slight growl, "Not that it is any of your business kitsune, but he picked up a dagger off of a dead demon a short time ago. I'm here to collect it."

Kagome pulled her backpack off of her back and began ruffling through the contents strewn about within. When she found what she was looking for, she tossed it at him. He caught the dagger in mid air, placing it on the inside of his garment, partially revealing the other dagger that he himself had shown Inuyasha not too long ago. Once he had put the item away, Kagome said, "That's what you came for. Now that you have, will you please just leave him be?"

Sesshoumaru at first looked affronted that this human would continue to speak in such a manner to him, but he buried it as he did indeed accomplish his goals with his younger brother and therefore had no more need of his, or there, presence. So he nodded curtly, and said, "For now," before turning face and walking off, away from the hanyou's company. He was stopped as another feminine voice called him out.

"Lord Sesshoumaru, would you at least answer us a question before you left," the demon lord turned back slightly toward the defeated hanyou's companion as she asked, "I saw that you already held another identical dagger, why did you need this particular one?"

The demon lord turned completely toward the group once more. His posture spoke of aggression and his sword was once again drawn. Looking toward the group, he narrowed his eyes slightly, not enough for the group to notice, but they nonetheless got the message when he spoke. His normal calm voice was laced with a hint of menace.

"Who are you human, to think that you could possibly question the great Lord Sesshoumaru?" he spoke as he stepped forward slightly slower, but with the threat of imminent violence in company. No matter how good they were at talking, right at this moment nothing any of the three humans said would make the situation any better, so it was up to the Kitsune to defuse the situation, and surprisingly he came through.

"We didn't mean to offend you, Lord Sesshoumaru. We were just curious."

The great demon lord ceased his aggressive advance on the party, and replaced his blade in its sheathe once more. He still wasn't pleased, but the conflict with Inuyasha's party was over, for now. He would just have to remember their impudence when next they met. For now he had more important matters at hand. Looking down at the Kitsune whose quick thinking saved the group from a possibly grim fate, Sesshoumaru said curtly, "I suggest you make sure your humans learn their place, Kitsune. Next time I will not be so, merciful."

"I will, thank you lord Sesshoumaru," said Shippo.

Sesshoumaru turned around and began walking away once more when he said over his shoulder, "I didn't need it. I just wanted to make sure the half-breed would stay out of my way. There's more at stake here than your pet hanyou can handle."

With that he was gone, and the company let out a collective sigh of relief at getting out of that particular situation. Kagome turned to look over Inuyasha as the others looked on concerned. Miroku spoke up after a few minutes to break the silence.

Looking over to Sango, who had suddenly become very close to him, Miroku said, "It's good to see that you're alright, my dear Sango."

Sango at first began to blush at his words. That didn't last as her face turned to that of consternation as Miroku's wandering hand found its way to her butt. Just as quickly, a resounding SMACK was heard before Miroku was off nursing his reddened cheek happily, and Sango was back to blushing a nice shade of crimson.

It was then that the little kitsune spoke again, this time to no one in particular, though everyone looked to him as he asked in his squeaky voice, "Where's Ayame?"

Dark clouds obscured the dismal night sky from view entire forest surrounding the infamous castle of Naraku was covered in a dreary shadow. All demons and other animals had taken flight from the cursed lands in haste, and the only ones brave enough to enter into this domain at the moment were the master of the castle, of course, and his 'loyal' retainers.

Currently as he sat in his seat at the far end of one of the many rooms, Naraku stared boredly at Kagura, who had spent the better part of five minutes relaying the movement s of groups of demons in the surrounding areas outside of his 'realm'.

Naraku of course, didn't give a damn about the movements of the weaklings about which Kagura spoke, and he made sure she knew it as he reached for a jar on a table to his right. Dipping his hand into the jar, he gave its contents a slight squeeze and watched in amusement as his servant was sent to her knees, clutching her chest in pain. That would teach her to waste his precious time on things that mattered not to anyone of any importance.

"Stop wasting my time, Kagura," he said as she began to rise to her feet, "You know that I couldn't care less about anything you've just said about the last few minutes. So get to what I sent you out for or I will be forced to punish you. Am I understood?"

"Y-Yes Lord Naraku," replied the shaken wind sorceress. His recent demonstration of power had hurt her quite a bit, but no more than usual. It was just another stroke in a long list of punishments divvied out by the evil demon that quite literally possessed her heart. But that hadn't stopped her as of yet. Don't get it wrong, she always eventually gave him what he requested; as she was about to, she just made sure he was thoroughly pissed first. It was small way of rebelling against the one who controlled nearly every aspect of her life.

Standing upright once more, the wind sorceress straightened herself up before beginning with her report, "Everything so far is going as planned."

Naraku merely looked on exasperated at his servant before replying, "You try my patience far too often Kagura. If you continue to bore me with this useless drabble I will be forced to amuse myself at your expense, and I know how much you enjoy that. So you can either tell me what I want to hear here and now, or as I have fun with you later, it's your choice. Now what exactly has been done?"

Kagura smiled inwardly as she continued to irritate the demon who held her life in the palm of his hands. But that inner smile was cut short upon hearing his not so veiled threat. Though he hadn't overtly mentioned a specific punishment, she knew in her mind what he would do to her and shuddered at the memories of his past punishments of the sort. It was one of the only things he did to her that she truly feared. And there was only so much she could do before he decided to carry through with that particular threat, and though she could handle some of his most violent of punishments, she would not test him further with the recent threat in the air. So, she cut straight to what he wanted to hear.

"As you already know, your new pet detached a few groups of Youkai from the east and laid them out, with hints that they were dispatched by the south. Kanna managed to get to the scenes before anyone else and make sure that there was no link to you on the scene. Also, it has been reported that the lord of the west has been informed of the intruders, and of their origins. He foolishly believes it to be merely a declaration of war on the side of the east. His dimwitted hanyou brother has even managed to entangle himself into the mix which should prove an added bonus for you. Now all we have left is to wait for your new pet to return from her latest mission and we can begin phase II," she said this last bit so as to belie the kinship she felt for the young demoness under the power of Naraku, for in the hands of Naraku, any piece of information was a potential weapon.

"Your attitude needs fixing, Kagura. Perhaps I should take you in the back and teach you how to speak in my presence," Kagura cringed as Naraku smiled nastily at the thought, "But you have done what I requested, so for now I will postpone your punishment. Leave me for now, and come back when she has returned and you are ready to begin Phase II."

"Yes, lord Naraku," she said before turning and leaving in a gust of wind.

The moon was full and the innumerable stars dotting the night sky looked down upon the world shedding what little light they could through the dense forest upon Inuyasha and company. The group had been traveling for days through forest after forest, encountering malign demons and humans alike as they traveled off toward their ultimate destination, the village of Kumori deep within the territory of the lord of the south.

They would have been there sooner, Inuyasha constantly reminded them, were it not for the inherent weaknesses of his human companions, or more specifically Kagome who felt it was their duty to aid everyone they encountered, and Miroku, who felt the need to introduce himself and his desire to propagate his seed to every eligible female he met.

They eventually did arrive though the entire party, with the exception of Inuyasha, Ayame & of course Kirara, were exhausted and happy to see an end to the torment of trying to keep up with a pair of demons. They couldn't rest just yet though, as just when the group reached the entrance to Kumori, a pair of samurai, garbed from head to toe in armor the same color as the forest around them, stepped forward, impeding the group's approach. Inuyasha seemed to go from mildly upset (which seemed to be his version of calm recently), to livid in an instant. It was only the quick thinking of Kagome, Miroku, and Sango to step between the guards and Inuyasha that headed off a potential conflict and prevented the group's journey here from being a wasted trip.

"What business do you have here stranger?" one of the guards said to the group. The pair had yet to draw their weapons, but they were in an aggressive position and had hands on their katanas ready for any aggression on the group's part. And they were not alone. Something to the tune of twenty archers, sat in the trees above, bows drawn in case the group decided to turn hostile, not to mention the number hidden all around them on the ground.

Sango stepped forward for the group, taking two steps forward toward the guards before she replied, "We did not come here for a fight. My friends and I came here to speak to your lord in the hopes of seeking out an audience with young master Shinzo."

"Why should we trust your word," the second guard asked suspiciously, "What guarantee do we have that you will not make an attempt on the lives of those within?"

"Look if we wanted to, we would have already done it. Now move the fuck out of the way so we can do what we came here to do." Inuyasha took another step toward the entrance to the city and the two guards unsheathed their weapons quickly, preparing for the hanyou's attack. Inuyasha laughed, "You can't think you could even hurt me with those pathetic weapons."

Sango pulled him back, apologizing to the two guards who remained ready for an attack at any moment. Looking to Inuyasha, she spoke, "Inuyasha this is not the place. This village is the home of exceedingly skilled samurai. Each and every one of their warriors has been in battle with a demon before and come out on top. Besides, knowing them, they've got at least about a dozen others nearby to aide these two if you decide to attack."

"I don't sense anyone else!" he replied.

"That doesn't mean that they aren't there, Inuyasha. Please, you have to trust me on this one. If not, we will have traveled all the way here for nothing, and I know you don't want to head back empty handed, do you?"

"Fine!" Inuyasha said before walking back to stand beside Ayame, grumbling the entire time.

Sango and Kagome breathed sighs of relief at the same time, before turning back toward the two guards and the group's current objective. That's when Miroku's absence from the group was noticed. Looking confusedly toward the guards, they saw the monk standing there, talking to the pair of guards, both of which had resumed non-aggressive stances, with their swords once again resting inside of their sheathes. One of the guards whispered something to his companion, who turned heel and raced off through the gates and into the village as Miroku turned back toward his companions with a grin on his lecherous face.

Sango waited until he had returned to the group before asking, "What exactly did you just do?"

"Nothing much really," said the monk seriously, "It seems that my father was a friend to these people, so when they saw my hand, they changed their minds about us. One of the guards just went to find someone to take us to see the lord."

Just then the gates to the village opened. Out the gates walked the second of the two guards, accompanied by a young man. The young man was garbed in casual but expensive red and gold colored clothes with his hair tied up in a ponytail high on the back of his head. Walking next to his samurai companion, it was clear who held the higher status. His companion seemed like he was trampling through the forest next to him. Though it's highly doubtful that Kagome and Sango even remembered he was walking with the samurai guard.  
"Welcome, friends," replied the young man as he and his guard companion stepped in line with the first guard, "We are honored to have you here. My name is Hisoki."

Miroku was the first to speak, "Thank you, Hisoki. Would it be possible to speak with your lord tonight, or do we need to…"

"You wish to speak with him as well?" Hisoki asked confusedly, "I thought that you came here to speak with Shinzo."

"They came to present themselves before our lord, Ma-"said the guard who had stayed with them, when the other guard jabbed him in his side, "Hisoki."

"If that's why you wanted to see him, don't worry about it," he said with a smile, "Your presence is already known. Who do you think sent me here?"

"A-Alright, then," began Sango, "When can we see him?"

"Now if you'd like. Follow me," he replied before turning around to walk back into the village.

Most of the group began walking after him, as the two guards moved out of the way to let them pass. Inuyasha stopped walking upon noticing that Ayame was no longer with the group. Turning around, he noticed her standing, rooted to the same spot she had been in as the group conversed with the two guards and Hisoki.

"Are you coming?" he asked her. Ayame shook her head 'no'. Something about this place made her uneasy, Inuyasha surmised, but what could it be? Following her gaze, Inuyasha's gaze fell upon a larger version of the crest he saw on the dagger hanging just above the gates to the village. With his gaze still locked on the crest, Inuyasha asked condescendingly, "What the fuck is so interesting about that?"

The area suddenly seemed to get very uncomfortable for Ayame. Taking one step back, she slowly surveyed the area, looking for something, before she turned heel and dashed off into the depths of the forest, away from the looming gates that reminded her so vividly of events that haunted her dreams for quite some time. Not wanting to lose the only lead the group had slip between their fingers, Inuyasha took off almost immediately after she did, racing off into the cover of trees yelling obscenities all the way.

The rest of the group had just entered the village gates when the sound of Inuyasha's swearing stopped them dead in their tracks. Turning around, they watched as their ill-mannered companion disappeared into the foliage. Hisoki too stopped to look as the ill-tempered hanyou sprinted off into the cover of the forest. Looking upward, he made a few slight hand gestures that went unseen by the party before turning his attention back to them. His hand reclined lightly on the hilt of his katana as he asked, "Shall we go, or did you wish to wait for your companions?"

It was Kagome who managed to stammer out a response first. "N-No we're coming," Kagome, the first of the group to regain her voice, managed to stammer out.

So Hisoki nodded before turning heel and walking back into the village, the others following closely behind. The gates closed silently behind them. The town was dead as they walked through. Everyone in the town was asleep, presumably and not a sound was heard as they walked through the town, for the first five seconds at least.

"Why are we out here doing this?" Miroku asked, cutting into the silence blanketing the entire town.

"Are you not interested in protecting the people who live in the villages back home?" asked Sango quizzically.

"What? Whatever we have been attacking has been killing demons, not humans. What have we learned so far that has made you as a demon hunter opposed to these people?"

"I didn't say that I had a problem with whoever has been killing these demons, but whoever has been killing off these demons is obviously good at it, by the number of demons we found. And all we know about this person or group is that they managed to dispatch a few nice-sized groups of demons. Who's to say they aren't just targeting large groups? How long will it be before an entire village is demolished? Or what if it happens to be something like Naraku? I'd rather know what we're facing before we have to face it."

Miroku was quiet for a moment, as if deep in thought about something. Then he mumbled something Sango couldn't make out.

"What was that?"

"I said it still doesn't add up…" Miroku said contemplatively, "Asking you those questions I wasn't trying to second-guess our quest, but more to see if you could come up with a reason that would have spurred Inuyasha into this. I know Kagome could have coerced him into coming regardless, but it seemed more like he was trying to push us here. He's more interested in this than normal."

"I've noticed that too, but I don't know any more than you do. Perhaps we should speak with him?"

"Hmm, perhaps you're right," Miroku said thoughtfully, "Alright; we'll talk to him later though. Right now, let's go see what this Shinzo can tell us?"

The group stopped in front of a nice looking home. Hisoki turned back to them to say, "Please, wait here while I go and get Master Shinzo."

Hisoki disappeared into the home, only to re-appear a moment later, ushering the group inside. The group followed him to a room somewhere in the center of the building. Inside, a lone man, sat with a small, ornately designed box at his feet, obsidian katana in hand. He was very lean, had long black hair that matched the darkness of his eyes tied back in a ponytail, and looked to be no more than 18 years old. His expression was very serious as he examined the blade in his hand. Upon the group's entrance, he rose and replaced the blade in its sheathe on the rack to his right, before resuming his place behind the small box.

"What can I do for you?" he inquired of the group.

"Master Shinzo," Hisoki piped in, getting a curious glance from Shinzo, "This is the group our lord spoke of."

"I thought there were youkai in the group. I see only humans.

"Hey!" Shippou exclaimed indignantly.

"I meant you no ill will, little one," replied Shinzo, "But I was expecting more along the lines of more adult youkai, and you are still a child."

Shippou huffed in indignation, but got no more voiced as Shinzo spoke to the group once again, "I assume you had questions, so ask."

"Not too long ago a few groups of demon warriors were wiped out along the borders to the western lands. Your daggers were left at each of the sites. What do you know about that?" Miroku asked.

"That is a really long answer. Is there something specific you want to know?"

"Who is responsible for killing all of those demons, why are they being killed, and why are your daggers there?" Sango asked.

Shinzo looked up to Hisoki, who was standing by the door, "You couldn't have answered these questions?"

"He said you. Besides, they were going to ask you for you anyway," replied

Shinzo just shook his head. "Alright, let's see I can't answer your first question, you really don't want to know the second, and because I made them for the killer."

"Well if you know the killer well enough to give him, your daggers, how are you not able to answer the question?"

"It's not that I don't know the answer, I just can't tell you. It would show great disrespect to my departed sister."

"Please, Lord Shinzo," Kagome said finally speaking up, "I understand the whole honoring your sister thing, but a lot of people's lives are at stake here. I'm sure your sister wouldn't want that."

Shinzo was silent for a moment before replying, "I can't tell you a name," the group's shoulders slumped visibly, "but I can tell you who is employing the assassin. He is a hanyou named Naraku. He wants to bring about a war to take out the lords of the North, South, East, & West provinces, and possibly more. I advise you to leave the rest of this alone. Nothing good can come of dabbling in such. Believe me, there are worse things than youkai, far worse."

"What else can you tell us? Please, if its as bad as you say, we need to know. One way or another we will face Naraku, and we'd be better off if we knew what he was planning."

"Fine, I'll tell what we have confirmed at the moment. It seems that this hanyou, Naraku is planning on opening some sort of gate, of sorts to hell. He plans to summon something that should never set foot on this world."

"Is there anything else you can tell us?"

"Be on guard at all times. The taint has already begun seeping into our land. And though he may be far off from his ultimate goal, you are still not safe. As you get closer and closer to him in the coming months, you will see things that no mortal should ever be witness to. I hope you're as strong as you seem to think. You're going to need it."

"You do all of this talking about what mortals shouldn't see, and what shouldn't be in this land. Why haven't you done anything about it yet?" asked Kagome.

Shinzo smiled, "You'll find out soon enough. But for now, I must retire. It is late and I wish to get some sleep. We'll be in touch when we learn something you should know." And with that, Shinzo rose, picking up the box that rested at his feet and ushered the group out of the house. Hisoki offered to put them up for the night, but they refused, choosing instead to search for their missing companions and possibly get a bit of distance between them and the village before they bedded down for the night.

It didn't take the group long to find their companions though, as the guards to the village gate pointed them in the right direction as soon as they left the village. Walking to where they were said to be, the group was surprised to find the two asleep together at the base of a tree, Ayame's head resting in Inuyasha's lap. A twinge of jealousy ran through Kagome, but was brushed aside rather quickly as she realized that Inuyasha had been the only one Ayame really trusted since they found her, and besides, it did seem like a really canine thing to do.

The rest of the group was about to bed down, when out of the shadows a figure stepped. He was garbed in a cloak that shimmered in a dark reflection of his surroundings. The creature walked forward and stopped about ten feet from the group, startling Inuyasha and Ayame into consciousness. Inuyasha's first reaction was to draw his sword from its sheathe in preparation for an attack. Just before he was about to attack, the figure spoke.

"Do not pursue this any further, I beseech you! You will only help to further his goals." Said the cloaked figure.

"Who are you?" asked Miroku.

"It doesn't matter," said the masked figure, "Listen, my time is short. Tell the others, if you go to him, then-" He stopped talking as a blur suddenly passed by in front of him and his head tumbled to the ground soon after. Then there was another, wearing a similar cloak as he, except this one's cloak did not hide the distinctly feminine face underneath, nor those lavender eyes that captured both Inuyasha and Ayame's attention.

"It's her!"

"It's her!"

Both spoke the same phrase at the exact same time though one was in mere recognition, while the other was laced with fear. Both though were mesmerized by the young female standing before them. No one spoke though, as she approached the dead messenger, reached down and touched the two pieces of her defeated target, causing them to immediately burst into flames until nothing but dust was left of the messenger. Then she stood, and for a moment looked upon the group. No one moved, except for Ayame, who cowered back slightly, and Shippo who all but climbed into Kagome's backpack. Finally, Inuyasha found a voice to speak to the girl, but as he was about to get the first syllable out, she vanished.

"Just like Ryu…" Inuyasha muttered to the night.


End file.
